


Karaoke Night

by AgentMaryMargaretSkitz, IncendiaGlacies



Series: The Roommates AU [3]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012), DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Babysitting, Karaoke, Rip is a good friend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-28
Updated: 2017-07-28
Packaged: 2018-12-08 05:46:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11640177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgentMaryMargaretSkitz/pseuds/AgentMaryMargaretSkitz, https://archiveofourown.org/users/IncendiaGlacies/pseuds/IncendiaGlacies
Summary: Roommates AU: Caitlin and Lily go out for a night of fun while Gideon watches Jonas for Rip.





	Karaoke Night

**Author's Note:**

> This was something we laughed about early on, and I decided that I'd write it out this week. I didn't expect this to turn into the monster that it did, but I hope it's a fun time.

Caitlin snatched up her phone as it started buzzing again. “This is Caitlin.”

“Finally,” Felicity’s panicked voice greeted her. “I have a problem.”

“Hello to you too,” Caitlin said as she set down her lunch. “What’s the problem? Is everything okay?”

“No!” Felicity sounded freaked out. “I have a date tonight. Actually, it’s a double date. But I didn’t plan it, and neither did he!”

“Felicity, slow down. Take a breath and tell me what happened.”

“Okay,” Felicity let out a long breath of air on the other end. “I am going on a date tonight.”

Caitlin wrinkled her nose. “And what’s wrong about that?”

“It’s with Ray Palmer.”

“Oh,” Caitlin nodded. “As in the Ray Palmer who Lily happens to like?”

“Do we know any others?” Felicity snapped. “I was talking to Sam at work and Karen was there too and Ray had just come in. Then Karen starts talking about some new restaurant and since she and Sam are together, they’re going to it. Sam says that Ray and I should join them and that it’d be fun for all of us. So now I’m going on a double date with Ray alongside Sam and Karen.”

“It’s one date,” Caitlin said.

Felicity groaned. “But they’re coming to pick me up. What if Lily sees us and assumes I like Ray? I mean, I do, but not like that! He’s a friend. Just a guy who is a friend and nothing more. I don’t want her to think we’re together!”

“Okay, I see your point there,” she admitted. “How about Gideon and I take her out for the night?”

“She’s helping Rip by watching Jonas tonight, remember?”

“Oh yeah,” Caitlin nodded before giggling. “They’re getting close these days.”

“Gideon will deny it and you know it. But taking Lily out is a good idea. You two can even raid my closet for the dresses my mom gave me. Just don’t take her to the new Thai restaurant. That’s where we’ll be.”

“Noted,” Caitlin turned around as Cisco entered the room. “I will think of something. It’ll be a fun girls night.”

Felicity gave a relieved sigh from the other end. “You’re amazing, Cait.”

“I know,” Caitlin smiled. “See you later.”

“Bye.”

Caitlin looked over at Cisco. “Hey, Cisco?”

“Yeah?”

“Know any places that are fun to go out to?”

Her friend stared at her over his slushie.

* * *

“We’re going out tonight.”

Lily stared at Caitlin as she walked up to where she’d been waiting. “Huh?”

“You and me,” Caitlin smiled as they made their way towards the exit. “We need to get out and do something fun. Cisco told me there’s a karaoke bar down on Tenth that we should check out.”

Lily looked over at her friend. “Did he call you uptight again?”

“No!” Caitlin shook her head quickly. “Well, maybe a little, but come on. We should get out and do something spontaneous like karaoke. Come on, it’ll be fun for us to try something different other than a Friday night Netflix marathon.”

Lily weighed the options. She did like sticking in her comfort zone. But at the same time, everyone always told her to try new things. Sometimes she could be as bad as Caitlin when it came to sticking with the things she liked. Perhaps it would be good to let loose for a night.

“Okay then,” she agreed. “But what about Gideon? She’s watching Jonas for Rip tonight because he’s got something.”

“Gideon’s fine with us going without her,” Caitlin told her. “She told me we should just go on without her. Felicity had a work thing pop up, so she can’t come either. So it’s just going to be us, but it’ll still be fun.”

“I hope so.”

* * *

“Are they still getting ready?” Felicity asked as she walked out into the living room. 

“Yes,” Gideon lowered her book on Amelia Earhart to look at Felicity. “You look good.”

“Thanks,” the bespectacled girl smiled. “Hopefully this goes fast.”

“I can always call in an ‘emergency’ if you need it,” Gideon told her.

“Nah, it’ll be fine. Just have fun with Jonas tonight. I’ll probably be home before Lily and Cait.”

“We’ll see.”

Felicity shrugged as she grabbed her purse and left the apartment.

Gideon went back to her book, turning the page. She had a little while before she would be watching Jonas for the night, so she was taking the time to get some reading in. Rip’s normal sitter was unavailable for the night, so she’d offered her services to him. She had never been the babysitting type (although her roommates insisted that she had a tendency to mother them), but she could survive a few hours with Jonas. He was a good kid who didn’t cause her a lot of trouble.

By the time Gideon was ready to go across the hall to Rip’s, Caitlin and Lily came out of the former’s room. Her eyebrows lifted at the sight of their dresses, which she wondered had been raided from Felicity’s closet. Still, this was their night to go out and have a little fun.

“Going out now?” she asked them.

“Yup,” Lily nodded. “We’re going to make a whole night of it. Dinner, then the karaoke bar.”

“Stay safe tonight,” Gideon warned after them as she grabbed her keys. “If you need help, call me.”

“We’ll be fine,” Caitlin smiled over at Lily. “I’ll keep my eye on her.”

“And I’ll make sure she doesn’t run off without me,” Lily added as they left the apartment together.

“Make sure you do have fun,” Gideon told her friends as she walked across to knock on Rip’s door.

Caitlin laughed. “We will!”

“But be safe!”

“Yes, Mom,” Lily joked as she and Caitlin walked down the hallway.

Gideon shook her head and made to knock on Rip’s door, only to have it open right up to reveal Rip himself.

“I could hear you from out in the hall,” he explained, his tone slightly sheepish. There was also a bit of a blush in his cheeks. “Come in.”

She stepped inside. “Thank you.”

“Gideon, I’m the one who should be thanking you,” Rip told her, closing the door. “I didn’t know this was coming until last minute. Len already had something going on tonight, as did Lisa.”

“It’s not a problem,” Gideon shrugged as Jonas entered the room.

As soon as Rip’s son saw her, his face lit up. “Hi, Gideon.”

“Hello, Jonas,” she smiled as the boy bounded over to his father.

“Can I show Gideon the movie we got?” he asked Rip.

Rip looked over at Gideon. “How about you ask her yourself?”

“Oh,” Jonas turned to her. “Do you want to watch the movie Daddy and I got?”

“That would be fun,” she told him.

“Well, I guess I’ll leave you two to it,” Rip said as Jonas hurried over to grab a DVD case. “Just call me if anything happens. I’ll probably be back before he has to get to bed. Thank you so much for doing this.”

“Like I told you, it’s not a problem,” she said as he opened the door. “He’s a good boy.”

Rip smiled. “I’m glad that you think that.”

* * *

“Excuse me,” Felicity said as her phone buzzed again in her purse. “I’ll be right back.”

She could feel Karen, Sam, and Ray watching her as she left the table and walked quickly towards the bathroom. Things had been going slowly. Karen and Sam kept trying to lead her and Ray to start talking, but the conversation would always fizzle out. Ray was nice and wonderful and a fellow nerd, but there was no spark. It was a little awkward since they were such good friends at work.

When she made it to the bathroom, Felicity stopped in front of the line of sinks and pulled out her phone. She had a few new alerts, a bunch of messages, and a Snapchat from Caitlin. The messages were from her mom and Gideon. The former had been actually managed to send a heads-up that she was visiting while the latter sent a text that praised Rip for getting his son into Star Wars. A small smile came across her face at that one.

The Snapchat opened up to show a selfie of Caitlin and Lily in front of a restaurant, although it thankfully wasn’t the one she was currently at. They had definitely raided her closet for the clothes her mother had given her. Caitlin was wearing a black dress that sparkled a little. Lily wore a cute red one. Both had grins on their faces.

“At least you guys are having fun,” Felicity murmured aloud.

* * *

When Caitlin and Lily entered Verdant, they were surprised to see it buzzing with activity. There was a stage against the back wall with two microphones beside a karaoke machine. Someone was on stage at the moment, singing The Beatles off key. Lily couldn’t help but smile a little as Caitlin walked towards one of the small tables.

“This looks fun, right?” her friend said.

Lily looked around and nodded. “Yeah, I guess.”

Caitlin’s face fell. “We can go somewhere else if you-”

“No,” Lily shook her head. “It’s just...new to me.”

“Well, you’re not the only one,” Caitlin said. “I’m dressed as a middle school principal most of the time. We’re still young. We need to cut loose at least once, and then we can go back to acting like old ladies.”

Lily laughed. “Okay, fine.”

“Now come on,” Caitlin brought her to the bar and ordered two drinks for them. “Let’s do this. To friends being spontaneous.”

“To being spontaneous,” Lily clinked her glass against Caitlin’s. “And to liquid courage.”

“That too,” Caitlin agreed as they drank.

* * *

“Thanks for the ride home,” Felicity said as Ray pulled up at her building.

“Hey, it’s no problem,” Ray told her as he put the car into park. “I live close by anyways.”

Felicity nodded. “That’s true.”

There was an awkward silence in the car. She knew she should just get out. However, she also wanted to tell Ray there was someone out there who he really needed to ask out. 

“Tonight was...fun,” she offered.

Ray shook his head. “No, it wasn’t. I know you didn’t want to be with me.”

“No!” Felicity said quickly. “I mean, yeah. But yeah in the way that I like spending time with you. I mean no in the way we were tonight. In the couple-y way. I’m fine going out with you as a friend but not in that- I’m just going to stop talking.”

“That’s okay,” Ray shrugged. “Truth be told, I felt the same. You’re my friend, Felicity.”

“You’re mine too,” she replied. “But just a friend. I don’t feel any…”

“Spark?”

“Yeah.”

He nodded. “Hopefully Karen and Sam saw that we’re not like that.”

“I hope so too,” Felicity opened the door to the car. “See you later, Ray.”

“Goodbye, Felicity.”

She was halfway out of the car when she stopped. “You should talk to Lily.”

“Lily?”

“You know, my roommate,” Felicity waved her hand. “Brown hair, this high, works with Caitlin.”

“I remember who she is,” Ray nodded, smiling.

“Well, you should ask her out sometime,” Felicity told him. “I know we just came out of a set-up date, but you and her should do something together.”

Ray was still smiling, but it looked...dreamy. “I think I’ll do that.”

* * *

“You know what you should do?” Lily giggled.

Caitlin shook her head. She wasn’t sure if she was tipsy or not, but she did find herself concentrating harder on what her friend was saying. “Nope.”

“I dare you,” Lily pointed to the stage. “To go up there and sing.”

“Wait,” Caitlin looked behind her at it. “Say it again.”

“I dare you to go and sing,” Lily said again, applauding as the current performer finished and walked off.

Caitlin snorted. “You’re kidding.”

“No,” her friend shook her head. “You should.”

“I’m not going up there, Lily. I’m not much of a singer.”

“Neither is anyone else!” Lily waved to the bar around them. “Come on. I’ll do it if you do.”

That was a tempting offer. They did say they were going to be spontaneous. The opportunity was right there presenting itself. And she had said they were going to cut loose tonight.

Caitlin stood up from the chair. “I’m gonna do it. Then you do it.”

“Yes!”

* * *

Cisco opened the Snapchat from Caitlin as soon as it had come in. He knew she was planning to go out tonight with Lily to the karaoke bar. It had surprised him that she was actually doing something like this. Of the four roommates, he would have thought that it would be Felicity who’d have organized this. People could surprise you.

Once the app finally came up, he saw it was a video and pressed it. The camera wasn’t held steadily, but he could hear Lily giggling in the background. She’d probably gotten ahold of Caitlin’s phone to record her up on the stage. Caitlin was holding the microphone as she made a very not sober attempt at singing the Spice Girls.

Oh, he was so singing Wannabe the next time he saw her.

* * *

Rip opened the door to his apartment, glad to finally be off the job. He did some catering as well as running his bakery. Kendra also worked it too and promised to cover the wedding they were currently working. However, there had been a last minute emergency with the cake and some other desserts. The bride had thrown a fit, so he’d come to help bail Kendra out and assist with the clean up operation.

“I’m back,” he called quietly. 

Gideon bolted up on the sofa. “Hi.”

“Hey,” he closed the door behind him. “Sorry that took so long.”

“No, no, it’s fine,” she climbed to her feet. “Jonas fell asleep about ten minutes ago.”

“He didn’t cause any trouble, did he?”

Gideon shook her head as she approached him. “Not at all.”

“Excellent,” Rip dug out his wallet.

“No,” Gideon stopped his hand. “You don’t have to.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive,” Gideon agreed, grabbing the door handle. “Goodnight, Rip.”

“Night, Gideon,” Rip replied as she left.

With a yawn, he made his way towards his room. When he passed by the couch, he didn’t notice that Gideon’s phone was on the couch.

* * *

“Come on, come on, come on!” Caitlin was already up on the stage. “Lily! Lily! Lily!”

The whole bar took up the chant now. Lily stood up quickly from her chair, wobbling a little. Caitlin motioned her to come on up so they could do a duet. As nervous as she had been earlier, Lily was more relaxed. Maybe it was spending the night with one of her closest friends, or maybe it was just the alcohol. Whatever it was, this was something she wouldn’t have ordinarily done.

“Look at her go!” Caitlin cheered as Lily stepped onto the stage. “Woo!”

Her friend was definitely heading towards drunk.

“What are we singing?” Lily asked as she got in front of the microphone.

“Just look at the thing,” Caitlin waved her hand as the lyrics started to come up. “Summer lovin’ had me a blast.

“Summer lovin’ happened so fast,” Lily sang as she watched the words light up. She knew she already sounded awful, but this was fun.

“I met a girl crazy for meeeee.”

“Met a boy cute as can be.”

“ _ Ray is very cute _ ,” she thought to herself before turning to Caitlin so they could sing together.

“Summer days, driftin’ away to uh-oh those summer nights. Uh well-a well-a wella huh!”

* * *

As he crawled into his bed, Cisco heard his phone chime again. He reached over to his nightstand. It was yet another Snapchat from Caitlin. She’d sent yet another video. Yawning, he opened it.

This time, it was Lily belting out Hollaback Girl.

Cisco snorted loudly.

* * *

A phone was ringing, snapping Rip awake after he’d finally fallen asleep. He didn’t recognize the ringtone, but it sounded close by. That meant there had be an intruder in his home. Rip jolted out of bed and ran towards the noise, grabbing the broom leaning against the wall on his way. If there was someone here, he should be prepared in case they were armed.

When he made it out into the living room, he found no one was there. A phone was still ringing. Rip could see a light coming from the couch and picked it up. Gideon must have left her phone behind earlier on accident. Perhaps that was why Lily was calling her, to help her find it.

Shrugging, he answered the phone. “Hello?”

“Did you know that cherophobia is the fear of happiness?”

Rip frowned. “Lily?”

“Hiii,” came from the other end. “It’s me!”

“And me!” Caitlin’s voice added. “Hey, Gideon.”

“This is Rip,” he told them. “Gideon left her phone here...is that music I hear?”

“How come you have Gideon’s phone?” Caitlin mumbled. “Are you two-”

“No!” Rip said quickly. “No. Where are you two? You realize it’s late.”

“We went out for the night,” Lily giggled. “Cait and I did karaoke. I sang.”

“We sang!”

Rip sighed and sat down. “Are you two drunk?”

“I am tipsy!” Lily declared. “Caitlin is drunk. Gideon told us to call her if we need help.”

“Where are you?” he asked, standing back up again. “I’m coming to get you.”

“But Gideon-”

“I’m awake already,” Rip said, grabbing his keys. “Name of the bar, Lily.”

“Verd...Verdant.”

“Stay put,” he ordered, checking to make sure Jonas was asleep before leaving and locking the apartment. “I’m on my way.”

* * *

“I can’t find it anywhere!” Gideon muttered as she dug through the couch cushions.

Felicity paused the movie they’d been watching while waiting for Lily and Caitlin to get home. “Gideon, relax. You’re sure your phone’’s not in your room?”

“Absolutely,” she said, straightening up with a panicked expression. “Oh no.”

“What?”

“It must have fallen out of my pocket at Rip’s.”

Felicity shrugged. “So?”

“So I told Lily and Caitlin to call me back if trouble happens!”

“They’ll be fine. Cait and Lily are responsible adults. And you can get your phone back tomorrow. It’ll give you a good excuse to see Rip anyways.”

* * *

“RIP!”

Rip was engulfed in a hug by Lily as soon as he made his way over to her and Caitlin. He could tell she wasn’t sober. Caitlin was sitting on a stool, looking somewhat miserable. A tall, muscular man was standing beside her, rubbing her back.

“Their tab’s been closed out and they’ve paid,” the man said as Rip approached him before nodding at Caitlin. “She threw up a little while ago. I’ve been making sure no one tries anything with them since.”

“He works here,” Lily whispered not so quietly.

“Thank you for watching out for them,” Rip said, helping Caitlin off the stool. “I’m helping them get home.”

“Yeah, they said Rip was coming to ‘save them’,” the man nodded. “Make sure they’re okay, alright?”

“I will,” Rip promised as he ushered the girls towards the door. “Come on, let’s go home.”

“Hey, Rip?” Lily said while Rip opened the door for her. “Guess what?”

“Did you know baby spiders are called spiderlings?”

“I did not. Now let’s get into the car.”

Lily went in easily, but Caitlin needed some more persuasion. Soon enough, he was driving them back home. Rip did everything he could to keep them alert enough until they got home. Gideon and Felicity would be able to handle them from there.

“Rip?” Caitlin murmured. “Thank you.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he told her as they stopped at a red light. “I just want you two to get home safe.”

“You’re sooo sweet,” Lily sighed.

“Yeah,” Caitlin agreed. “I can see why Gideon likes you so much.”

Rip stiffened at her words. Gideon...liked him? “She likes me?”

“And not in the ‘let’s just be friends’ way,” Caitlin mumbled. “More in the-”

“Caaait!” Lily chastised, giving her friend a small shove. “That’s a secret. It means shhhh!”

“Oops!”

Rip shook his head as the light turned green. He wasn’t able to stop thinking over what Caitlin had just said. Sure, he was fully aware that he liked Gideon in a romantic sense. She was a brilliant woman who could match his dry humor with her own. They could talk to each other for ages. Gideon even got along well with Jonas, and his son loved it whenever she came around.

After he’d parked, Rip then had to get the girls back in the building. Lily was happily rambling off more random facts and tidbits. Caitlin was teetering on her heels and giggling at every one of Lily’s facts. Rip was focused on making sure they didn’t run off on him. Jonas on a sugar rush was slightly more controllable than this.

“Someone was out late,” a voice called out as Rip managed to get Caitlin and Lily inside the building.

Rip looked towards the staircase and the woman halfway up it. “Sara.”

“Rip,” Sara Lance acknowledged before noticing the girls. “Is that Caitlin and Lily?”

“Hey, Sara,” Lily waved and walked over to her. “Did- did you know three percent of the ice in Antarctica is actually penguin urine?”

“Gross,” Sara’s nose wrinkled and she looked over at Rip. “Is she drunk?”

“Tipsy,” Lily corrected.

“Apparently, they went out for karaoke,” Rip said as Caitlin leaned heavily on him. “They called Gideon, but she’d left her phone at my place.”

A devilish smile stretched across Sara’s face. “Oh, did she now?”

“Not like that!”

“I’m kidding, Rip. Yeesh,” Sara stopped Lily from tipping forward. “Need some help getting them back home?”

“Yes, thank you,” Rip said as he lead Caitlin forward. “Come on, Caitlin.”

“We’re going up?” she mumbled.

“Yes, yes we are,” he told her as she put a foot on the step.

Sara passed Lily back over to him after they got the girls up onto their floor. “Take care of yourself, okay?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Lily agreed.

“Night, Rip,” Sara said as she walked off to her own door.

“Night, Sara,” he called after her, reminding himself to tell her to stop flirting with Leonard while he was watching Jonas for him. Jonas was picking up on some of that and asking questions.

* * *

Gideon was making her way to the door as soon as she heard the first knock. She opened it up, figuring Caitlin and Lily had finally made their way home. Instead, she was greeted with Rip, who had Caitlin leaning on him. Lily was swaying a little. Both of her roommates were definitely not sober.

“You left your phone at my place,” Rip said, passing it over to her. “They called.”

“And you went to pick them up?” Gideon asked as she brought Lily inside first. “You didn’t have to. You could have just told me and I’d have gone after them.”

“It’s fine,” Rip told her. “Someone was making sure that they were okay, and I took them home.”

“Thanks,” Gideon smiled as Rip eased Caitlin over to her. “I owe you.”

“You watched Jonas for me,” Rip said. “I got your friends home. We’re fine.”

“Still, you made sure they made it home,” Gideon watched as Felicity got Lily on the couch. “Thank you for that.”

He nodded, and they both stood there for a few awkward seconds.

“I’m going to help Felicity with them,” she finally said as Caitlin walked towards Felicity.

“Right,” Rip looked back across the hall to his own apartment. “I should get back too.”

“Okay. Goodnight.”

“Night, Gideon.”

She watched as he walked across the hall before shutting her door.

“If you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it,” Caitlin warbled with a smug look.

Felicity snorted loudly.

Gideon shook her head and sat down beside Lily.

* * *

Felicity entered Verdant the next day as soon as she could. She’d been thankful that she hadn’t needed to work today. After Caitlin and Lily had come in and had been gotten out of the ‘evil dresses’, they’d decided they wanted to make mac and cheese in the microwave. It had ended with a nearly triggered fire alarm and Lily crying on the floor with Caitlin hugging her there, but at least they’d finally gone to bed after that passed. The morning was quiet mostly for their sakes. Caitlin was in worse shape than Lily and had realized she’d lost her earrings at Verdant the night before. Neither were feeling like returning quite yet after the shows they’d put on the night before, so Felicity had volunteered.

“Hi,” she said to the girl restocking the bar. “I had some friends here last night and one of them lost her earrings. Did you happen to find any last night?”

“I wasn’t working the bar last night,” the girl told her. “But I can get the guy who was.”

“That’d be great.”

The girl smiled and disappeared for a few minutes before returning with a man. When she saw him, Felicity straightened up and adjusted her glasses. Her heart felt like it did a little flip.

“Hi,” she said, holding out her hand. “Felicity.”

“Oliver,” the man replied, shaking her hand. “Thea says you’re asking about a pair of lost earrings.”

“Yeah, my friend lost them when she came here last night.”

Oliver walked behind the counter and retrieved a small parcel wrapped in a napkin. “I found these closing up. Is this what she was wearing?”

Felicity unfolded the napkin. The earrings were indeed Caitlin’s. “That’s them. Thank you.”

“No problem,” Oliver nodded. “Did they get home alright?”

“Yeah,” Felicity put the earrings in her purse. “They had a good time last night I think.”

Oliver smiled. “I’m glad to hear that.”

She nodded. “Thanks again, Oliver.”

“No problem.”

As she left the karaoke bar, Felicity spared one last glance back at Oliver.

Maybe she should go to Verdant some night with the girls.

**Author's Note:**

> Reviews=Love


End file.
